divided. five republicans, four democrats. five justices, including justice kennedy, who support roe v roe v. wade, four who oppose v. >> jeffrey toobin, the book is "the oath "and we've just discussed once again the most important reason to vote for president. thanks for joining me tonight. >> sure. >> "the ed show" is up next. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show." two days until the first presidential debate and 36 days until the election. this was the scene at the senate debate in massachusetts minutes ago. >> you're going to comment on my record, i would have you refer to -- excuse me. excuse me. i'm not a student in your classroom. please let me respond.

okay? thank you. >> we're going live to boston for full analysis. there's a lot to get to tonight. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> up haven't given me the math. >> well, it would take me too long to go through all of the math. >> the republican ticket can't get fox news on board with their vision for america. >> i didn't want to get into all the math of this and everybody would start changing the channel. >> howard fineman from the latest calamity. the romney camp says they plan to win the debate with zingers. >> i would be tempted to go back to that wonderful by ronald reagan, there you go again. >> how much you want to bet, it doesn't work? >> $10,000 bet? on the eve of election day in ohio, they are sleeping overnight at polling places. we'll go live to cleveland where nina turner is camping out for early voting. and house majority leader

eric cantor is fighting for his political life in his own district. wayne powell will join me live following tonight's big debate. good evening, americans. good to have you with us. republicans are hoping for a game changer in the next few days, but romney's path to victory is starting to disappear. president obama is ahead in all of the vital swing states needed for victory. if the election were held today an associated press analysis shows president obama would win at least 271 electoral votes. 270 votes wins the presidency. the romney campaign, no doubt, is struggling to, say the least. romney's own running mate was forced to admit how their campaign has stumbled. >> so, yeah, we have had some missteps, but at the end of the day, the choice is really clear. we're giving people a clear choice. >> paul ryan was asked about the

tax cuts for the millionaires proposed by romney and ryan's budget plans. he was a guest on fox news sunday with chris wallace and the vice presidential candidate made some missteps of his own. >> how much would it cost? >> it's revenue neutral. >> i'm just talking about -- the cut in tax rates. >> the cut in tax rates is lowered for all americans by 20%. it's revenue neutral. >> it's not unless you take away the deductions. we're going to get to that. the first half. lowering the tax rates. does that cost $5 trillion? >> no. >> the master of the power point was having a hard time making a point. let's break down what paul ryan is actually saying here. romney and ryan will give $5 trillion in tax breaks to the

wealthiest americans. subtract an unspecified amount of money of unnamed deductions. somehow you're going to get a revenue neutral tax plan. it's a plan so bogus not even a fox news host can understand it. >> you haven't given me the math. >> i don't have the -- it would take me too long to go through the math. >> paul ryan, paul ryan, if you want to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, you're going to have to explain your plans to the american people. take all the time you want. especially here on "the ed show." you guys have been complaining about media fairness preponderance let's talk it over. today paul ryan told a radio host in milwaukee why he wouldn't give chris wallace the math. >> you know, i like chris. i didn't want to get into all of the math of this because everybody would start changing the channel. >> so nice of paul ryan to be concerned about chris wallace's ratings rather than presenting the details of his plan to the voters. paul ryan is the chairman of the house budget committee and he can't even take time to explain his policies to the american people? now later in the interview, ryan

revealed the truth about the tax breaks for fat cats. >> what's most important to him in his tax reform plan? >> keeping tax rates down. by lowering tax rates, people keep more of the dollar they earn. that matters. that is pro-growth policy. that creates seven million jobs. >> that's more important than? >> than anything. >> tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires are more important than anything else? those are paul ryan's words. for bet about paying for the tax cuts that he's talking about. you know, they are here to stay if romney and ryan get elected. you can count on that. it's no wonder the romney campaign is struggling with this entire message. but when all else fails, what you got to do is blame the media. >> carrying water for barack obama? >> it kind of goes without saying that there's definitely a media bias. >> where have you seen it in this campaign where you feel they are judging you by one

standard and obama by another? >> i'm not going into fit for tat. there's a media bias. and anybody with objectivity would believe that. >> blaming the media is the latest talking point for paul ryan. at a fundraiser, ryan told supporters the campaign needs their help to fight off the media. >> we can't expect the president to play fair. he's not. we're not expecting the media to tell our story. they are not. >> i guess paul ryan didn't hear what new jersey governor chris christie said about people who blame the media. >> we can complain about coverage of the campaign. if you do that, you're losing. >> and ryan obviously didn't get the memo from the romney campaign adviser ed gillespie. >> we have a no whining rule in

boston about coverage in the media. >> blaming the media is apparently off the table for mitt romney. which is why the candidate is starting yet another strategy to try to get back into this game. salon.com reported about meetings between romney advisers who want the candidate to attack president obama as being weak on national security. according to the report, strategists refer to their new operation as the jimmy carter strategy. romney wants to link president obama to president carter by comparing the current events in libya to carter's issues with iran. the candidate telegraphed his new strategy in a "wall street journal" op-ed this weekend. the campaign says romney will give a major foreign policy speech this week. romney is taking his message to the air waves. >> i think they want to do their best to keep the people of america from understanding exactly what happened.

we expect candor, we expect transparency, particularly to terrorism. >> it's hard to understand how mitt romney thinks this strategy is going to work. romney was hammered for his initial response to the attack in the middle east. he blamed the president for sympathizing with protesters. romney is a 14-point disadvantage for terrorist issues. romney can't pick a strategy and stick with it. the campaign, they used to be all about jobs. the romney slogan was obama isn't working. but then all of a sudden, the campaign was about obama care and the slogan was "repeal and replace." then that didn't work so romney moved on to we did build that. while republicans spent a night at their own convention talking about the new strategy, but that didn't work either. so recently they went with "are

you better than off than you were four years ago?" but now they are abandoning it for national security message. they are all over the map, folks. paul ryan says the campaign has made some missteps, but it looks like the campaign just steps all over itself. if you use his campaign as an example, mitt romney isn't providing at all as a leader. here's the bottom line. they have never been on message. you can go all the way back to the republican primary debates. president obama never had the heat put on him because the republicans didn't have their act together with all their infighting and message to america. president obama and the campaign has won the summer. never behind in the polls, had a better convention, no question about it. and in the post convention, it's only gotten worse. now we're down to the debates in denver on wednesday night. the first one is on domestic policy. there are actually some

republicans who are putting their credibility on the line, going out on the talking heads saying that mitt romney, after all of these months of missteps and not being sure of where he is on the issues, he's just going to turn it all around and, by the way, they can't explain the math on how they are going to turn it around. get your cell phones out. tonight's question. do you trust mitt romney's and paul ryan's math? text a for yes or b for no. you can go to our blog and leave a comment. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. joining me is howard fineman, nbc news political analyst. great to have you with us tonight. it's really been an all over the map strategy, almost like a dart board mentality. let's see where it lands today. can paul ryan get away with refusing to give details about his tax plan, howard? >> no, i don't think he can. it's great to be in denver. it's going to be fascinating to

watch this. it's a great town in a swing state, maybe the swingiest of the swing states. if the romney/ryan ticket has a hope of winning in colorado and other battleground states, they are going to have to explain the math. they can't carry it for 36 days without doing so. chris wallace made an attempt. i bet you the debate on wednesday night makes an attempt. this time 50 to 60 million people will be watching. if mitt romney doesn't give more details, he's going to look bad. >> why are they running with this new strategy of attacking the president on national security? >> well, as you said, it's kind of throw it against the wall and see what sticks strategy. they haven't been able to compare the president to a man who many think of as not a successful democratic president, that is jimmy carter, on domestic affairs. they tried, but they haven't succeeded.

so they are desperate to make that carter analogy any way they can. they are probing for weaknesses in the record. what they should have been doing all along is running against president obama's record on the economy. that's what they should have down. the latest "washington post" poll shows for the first time, mitt romney is slightly better regarded on the question of who will do better leading the economy over the next four years than the president? that's through no good offices of mitt romney on his own. that's in spite of what mitt romney has done. >> howard, we have heard so much about the disgruntled folks within the romney/ryan camp. the way it's unfolding in the polls is not good. there's a report that says that romney is beginning to lose donors who were shifting their money to house and senate races.

what's going on here? is this starting to take its toll on the campaign? >> yes. in many ways, what mitt romney's challenge is on wednesday night is to stop the bleeding within his own party and within his own camp. absolutely. behind the scenes, republicans are very worried. some are saying so publically. if mitt romney doesn't reassure them within the first half hour of the debate, they are goners. now you're seeing already, a lot of the independent super pacs who are blessed with their own money are going elsewhere. they are desperately trying to keep a low margin in the senate. the democrats still hold it. republicans have faint hopes of taking it. they are looking at house races, at governor races, state legislatures, they are looking at anyplace to protect

themselves from what, at this minute, looks like a fairly comfortable win for president obama. that could change. it could still change. i have to stress. but there's nothing in the romney strategy so far that indicates they know how to turn it around. >> all right. howard fineman, thanks for your time tonight. good to have you here in denver. remember to answer tonight's question. their your thoughts on twitter and on facebook. coming up, chris christie says mitt romney will turn the presidential race upside down with his debate performance? chris kofinis joins me for the conversation. stay with us. we've right back. and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. right back. right back.re righ. tridion safety cell

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coming up, mitt romney, his favorite surrogate and buddy chris christie says that the candidate is going to wipe the floor with president obama. really? the campaign says mitt romney is working on some zingers. this could get ugly. and very entertaining. the second debate between elizabeth warren and scott brown has just ended.

there were a ton of fireworks. we will be life in massachusetts with the latest. and there was another big debate tonight. and you are going to see the coverage right here before anywhere else. democrat wayne powell just finished his debate with house majority leaderer rick can for. tonight, i'll talk to the man tried to unseat one of the biggest constructionist in congress. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter. we're coming right back. [ male announcer ] if you had a dollar for every dollar

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narrative of the race is going to change. here's the great news for republicans. we have a candidate who is going to do extraordinarily well on wednesday night. he's going to contrast what his view and what the president's record is. and this whole race will be turned upside down come thursday morning. over the course of every time he was backed into a corner in the primaries, he came out with a great debate performance because that's where he shines. >> i find this just amazing. i think chris christie needs to go back and go to surrogate school for a moment. the governor of new jersey, the idea of a surrogate is it not to dampen expectations so it's going to be easier for the candidate to exceed them? apparently not. chris christie is right about one thing though. mitt romney must accomplish a lot on wednesday night to begin to alter this race across the board. romney's team is loading him up with a bunch of zingers for the debate according to to "the new york times." romney has memorized these

zingers and has been practicing them on aids since august. romney obviously did well enough in the primary debates to make it this far, no doubt. although most of his competition wasn't as tough as president obama. romney also had some memorable moments. >> i'll tell you what. $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> the answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can't find work here because they don't have legal documentation to allow them to work here. >> i can't have illegals. rick, i'm speaking. i'm speaking. you get 30 seconds. this is the way the rules work here is i get 60 seconds. and then you get 30 seconds to respond, right? >> well, let's bring in democratic strategist chris

kofinis and susan del percio. you know, i'm going ten to one that mitt romney touches president obama during this debate and loses his cool. that's just who the guy is, i think. susan, did governor chris christie think he was helping mitt romney by saying that the debate would just be turning this race upside down? what do you think? >> i think chris christie was just being chris christie. while you're correct, a lot of people were dampening expectations, chris said what a lot of people are hoping and thinking. mitt romney delivers a vision with some specifics that people can grab on to and can turn this race around. the fact is things flip-flopped very, very quickly in the last two or three weeks. they can go back the other way. only if romney performs well. >> chris kofinis, do you believe that romney can turn this around

as many months as he's had, one misstep after another, and by a wide margin, americans think president obama is going to win this debate and has the upper hand. what about expectations and what about the possibility of romney turning this around? what do you think? >> well, that's clearly their strategy. you have to love governor christie for raising expectations, but he was basically telling the truth. the romney campaign has to have a good performance to change the narrative of a campaign in a spiral to death. can he do it? i don't know. i have not seen any indication from governor romney or his campaign at any moment, whether it was the convention, during the summer, since the convention, that suggests they are able to maximize, you know, an opportunity. so i'm a little suspicious. but the reality is, he's going to come in here with a little

lowered expectations and at least in terms of the public opinion polls. but let's be honest. he's a good debater. the problem with governor romney is he tends to also put his foot in his mouth and create these land minds, like the $10,000 bet. which if that happens in this it debate, it will be a disaster. >> is it the idea of him having some zingers for his opponent who was pretty academic on the issues and has been very well schooled up in the debate process, does the romney camp actually think that zingers are going to get president obama off his game and have an impression on the american people? susan, what do you think about that? >> i think, first of all, you love saying the word zingers. it seems to be very much part of the conversation. that being said -- >> it's not my word. i mean, this is a story that's in "the new york times" that mitt romney has been practicing these zingers on his own staff ever since august.

i mean, i guess the bigger point i make, isn't he going to have to get substantive to make people really realize that maybe he can run the country and turn the tide instead of zinging his way to this? >> absolutely. he will not zing his way to a win. there's no doubt about it it. he's shown he's not terribly great at delivering them. but what's more important than the zingers is the way you can take a punch. everyone knows you can throw a punch, but can you take it? and that's what's going to be a challenge to president obama and governor romney. will romney be able to get underneath president obama's skin? will president obama really put governor romney in a place where he can't come out of? can he box him in? i don't think it's going to be who delivers the zingers but who takes the punches better. >> well, chris, finally, the demeanor of mitt romney.

what are we going to see? during the primary debates, we saw him lose his cool a couple times. we saw him get a little emotional. as you said earlier, just a moment ago, he'll stick his foot in his mouth. but isn't demeanor and presidential attitude and presentation going to be so much more important in this debate than a republican primary debate? your thoughts on that? >> absolutely. if you look back at the history of presidential debates, it's not just something that the candidate says that matters. it's also what they do. everyone remembers that infamous moment where president bush sr. looked at his watch during the town hall debate and defined who he was. and so for governor romney, you know, there's a clear frame of him that he has helped create in terms of his cold and indifference. my guess is they are going to try to counter that. the problem is in a debate, it can sometimes come across as fake.

you're basically trying to make it up as you're going along. and so he's got a little bit of a challenge there. then in terms of how he comes after the president, he has to be very careful on this front because the president is incredibly likable and the american people support him. if he goes too harsh, too negative, there will be a backlash and it will backfire. >> i don't think governor chris christie did him any favors whatsoever saying he's going to turn thing this thing upside down in one debate and i don't think donald trump did him any favors by suggesting he go birther. chris and susan, great to have you on "the ed show" tonight. coming up, the second debate between scott brown and democratic challenger elizabeth warren has just ended. we'll bring you the highlights and talk to boston city council at large felix arroyo coming up next. and state senators in ohio are camping out tonight to raise

awareness about early voting, which begins in just a few hours. state senator nina turner joins us. stay with us.

do you have any evidence at all, senator, to suggest that ms. warren benefitted, was hired, because she was native american or minority?

>> the real issue, david, is what is she telling the people not -- >> answer the question. you suggested she's being dishonest. i want to know if you have any evidence. >> the best way to answer that is for her to release her personnel. >> i've answered the question. i never used it for college, for law school, or to get a job. >> senator scott brown on defense trying to back up his manufactured native american controversy. brown and democratic opponent elizabeth warren just finished their second debate for brown's senate seat. it was front and center in the debate. but brown also had a tough time standing by mitt romney's economic plan. >> you support governor romney for president, i assume. >> as i said, when it comes to dealing with the economic issues, absolutely.

but we're two different people. >> you would be a reliable ally when it came to his economic plan? on his economic plan, you said >> i would also like to read the bills. a lot of people don't read the bills down there. >> meanwhile, a new set of polls show this race is close. polling from mass i think has it close. 18% of massachusetts voters are still undecided. and that means senator brown's seat is still up for grabs. for more on this tonight, let's turn to felix arroyo. you were at the first debate and of course, at this one again tonight. watched this debate. did either candidate gain any ground in your upon? how did it come out tonight? >> i believe elizabeth warren has been gaining ground. even the polling suggests that. when you say 18% of massachusetts voters are undecided about who to vote for, scott brown has been our senator for close to two years.

they know who he is. they haven't been sold on whether to vote for him. but getting to know elizabeth warren, the tide is turning. i think massachusetts will be elected elizabeth warren in november. >> so do you think tonight was a big game changer for elizabeth warren? you think she solidified her position tonight with massachusetts voters? >> i think she had another strong debate performance and i think scott brown has been replaying the same tired play book. bring up false native american issues, check. run away from mitt romney, check. run away from my record, check. i'm not sure that's a winner in massachusetts, but at least he let everybody know who his favorite justice was. >> i want to play more tape. there was a portion where brown, the senator lost his cool on warren. let's take a look at it. >> if you're going to comment on my record, i would at least have

you refer to it -- excuse me. i'm not a student in your classroom. please let me respond. thank you. >> some observers said that brown seemed angry at the last debate. is this a big image problem for him? and i also notice that the native american issue is not polling very well in massachusetts. not that many people really care about this. and he just seems to be taking out ads, billboards, and all of this stuff. does he have an image problem in his campaign? what do you think? >> his first campaign he ran as the nice guy and the guy you can hang out with, have a beer with. it's exchanges like that that i think he's showing who he is. you have to believe them when they show who they are. and senator brown has done that. i think there's a hint of not respecting teachers. as the son of a public schoolteacher, the brother of

one, the husband of one, someone who went to public school and is proud of my professors and teachers, i was taught to have really deep respect for teachers and i got a hint that he may not respect the profession in a way that most of us do. >> all right. senator brown says he's bipartisan. that took a lot of people on twitter by surprise. but warren challenged him on that tonight. let's take a look at it. >> what he says to people around this country is that they should contribute to his campaign because if he's reelected, that increases the odds that the republicans will control the senate and that he can block president obama's agenda. >> given his votes, do you believe his goal is to block and obstruct president obama's agenda? >> on economic issues, i absolutely do. >> do people in massachusetts, felix, believe that the senator is bipartisan? and has a bipartisan record and

a bipartisan image? >> i don't. i would have appreciated a more bipartisan record when he voted against three job bills and supported the blunt amendment when he's not been standing up for pro-choice causes, when he doesn't support the buffett rule to make sure someone like me in the working class paying 30% in taxes is paying the same as someone like mitt romney, who he endorsed for president and doesn't want to mention who is paying less than 14%. i had a constituent in boston tell me that brown is pro-choice. if by choice you mean allowing the employer whether to decide whether or not women should have access to contraception. that shows he's not bipartisan when he stands with nasty legislation like that. >> i tell you what, 18% of the people in a "boston globe" poll say they are undecided. for a sitting senator, that's a big number. felix arroyo, thank you for

being with us. stay with us. we'll be right back. >> hello, ohio. it's the eve of election day in the most important swing state in the country. tonight we'll go live to cleveland where state senator nina turner is camping out to vote early in the morning. and one of the faces of the worst congress in history is getting challenged like never before. democrat wayne powell just finished his debate with eric cantor. tonight he joins me for an exclusive interview. [ female announcer ] life is full of little tests, but your basic paper towel can handle them. especially if that towel is bounty basic. the towel that's durable and scrubbable. in this lab demo, bounty basic is stronger than the leading bargain brand. everyday life. bring it with bounty basic. affordably priced. tested by everyday life.

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welcome back to "the ed show." here we go. just hours from now, this presidential race will enter a truly significant phase because voting will begin in the state of ohio. state senators are sleeping outside local boards of election to raise awareness about early voting. don't think for a minute that

this isn't necessary. it's important to raise awareness about early voting in ohio because at every turn, republicans like ohio secretary of state jon husted have tried to kill it off. 30% of the ohio vote was cast before election day. this time around, it could be as high as 40%. the romney campaign has 36 field offices in the state of ohio. represented by the red dots on this map. the obama campaign has 96 field offices in ohio, the blue dots on the map. if the obama campaign has a better ground game, it can take full advantage of early votes and that's what they are trying to do. there's another potential in ohio. 500,000 voters have been taken off the rolls since 2008. a leading voting rights group has filed a request to make sure that the process was fully

legal. joining me tonight and now is ohio state senator nina turner who has been on the forefront fighting this fight all along. you can see the folks behind her are ready to stay out and make sure they get voting squared away early. why are you going through this and how important is it? >> thanks for being with us, ed. it's vitally important that despite the dirty tricks going on in the state of ohio that folks in the state exercise their right to vote, particularly here in our county. my colleagues and i across the state of ohio, we are lined up in front of our boards of election to show how important voting is for the early vote. >> senator, what about the 500,000 people that possibly won't be voting in 2012 because that's the number that's out there? 500,000 voters have been taken off the rolls since 2008. i want to emphasize off the rolls. what does that mean for ohio?

>> since we don't know the rules that the secretary of state used to do that because there's no transparency in secretary of state husted's office, that brings me concern. but what we have to focus on is the people who are on the rolls and are able to vote, to drive them to the boards of elections. this is a choice election. this is about electing a president who believes in building an economy from the middle out and not the top down. this is about voting to reelect the president who does believe in the 47% or voting for a governor who has a disdain for the 47%. so we will not relent in the state of ohio. we're going to come out. we're fired up and ready to go. we will help president obama make history again. >> senator, what about the 9-point advantage that president obama has in the most recent

polls? you have some enthusiastic people behind you tonight. but president obama has had a good lead in ohio and now it's been opened up in one poll by nine points. are you concerned about overconfidence? the columbus dispatch ohio poll has obama at 51% and romney at 42%. how crucial is early voting when you look at this this number? >> it's very crucial, ed. although i'm pleased the president is up by nine points. it's important folks come out to vote. the final count is when people cast their ballots and not necessarily by the polls. so we can't get overconfident. it's not over until it's over and that's november 6th. but we can start to vote early and start to show our support for president obama. we can show our support for our federal senator sherrod brown and show our support up and down the ticket here in ohio starting tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. and we are here to make sure that our president knows that we have his back, the same way he's had ours in the state of ohio.

>> senator, why do you think it is that the percentage of early voting might jump 10%? it was 30% back in 2008. why could it be as high as 40%? >> because of all the efforts of obama for america and the ohio democratic party, the county parties and civic-minded folks who are getting out to remind folks why it is so important to vote. you know, ed, congressman john lewis was here in ohio just this past friday at a program i was the emcee. for him to talk about what happened to him on bloody sunday, he had an apple and orange and two books standing in the ready position just to have the right to vote.

this is the least we can do in the state of ohio to show solidarity for poor folks and the middle class and for women and for elderly folks and students to show that we understand how we got over and our soul looks back and wonders how we got over and we are not going to let some republicans stop us from exercising our right to vote. we stand up for the middle class in this state and in this nation and we are standing strong for our foremothers and forefathers. that's why the early vote is so important and that's why i think that the vote early is going to be bigger and better than it was in 2008 because we're going to show the republicans there ain't no stopping us now because we're on the move. >> all right. ohio sate senator nina turner with us tonight from ohio. great to have you with us tonight. early voting starts tomorrow. eric cantor might be looking for a new job in 2013. i'll introduce you to the democrat who just stood toe to toe with the house majority leader in a major debate. stay with us. with the spark cash card from capital one,

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still to come on "the ed show", eric cantor is in a fight to keep his house seat after two years of gop obstruction have taken a toll on his approval rating in virginia. his challenger wayne powell joins me for a recap of their debate and more. don't forget, you can listen to me on sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. and follow me on twitter at @edshow and like "the ed show" on facebook. we'll be back. stay with us. buy 'em or don't. whatever man. either way, he gets to fly helicopters all day. and he eats the liquid gold of velveeta shells & cheese. achieve your dreams. eat like that guy you know. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married,

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welcome back to "the ed show". we are broadcasting from denver. and msnbc is hosting a presidential debate eve watch party here in denver tomorrow night. come out and join us at the governor's park tavern at 4:00 local time here in denver. after the show, i'll leave the studio and visit with you. we're looking for it. we'll hear your thoughts on the upcoming debate on wednesday

night and the upcoming election. that goes for all our listeners on colorado progressive talk. we look forward to seeing you tomorrow night at the governor's park tavern right after the show. tonight in our survey, i asked you, do you trust mitt romney's and paul ryan's math? 3% of you said yes. 97% of you said no. coming up, the man who just finished debating eric cantor, wayne paul powell joins me next. ♪

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these people are suffering. what's happened in this country is from the top 1% of our population that controls 7% of the wealth, we now have 1% of the population, and this is not class warfare, this is fact, controls 24% of the wealth. >> we need to do a lot of things to reform our public school system to give the individuals the tools that they too can get up on that ladder of success. it's not as mr. powell suggests income redistribution. >> welcome back to "the ed show." to the big finish. that was eric cantor and democratic challenger wayne powell in the first and only scheduled debate between the two men fighting to represent virginia's seventh district. it was heated, but congressman cantor was almost robotic in sticking with the republican

script. a classic republican obstructionist has become the face of this it do-nothing congress. congress has a 13% approval rating, the lowest gallup has measured this late in an election year. which could spell trouble for cantor. public policy polling found 40% of likely voters in the state of virginia have an unfavorable opinion of the congressman. his seat is up for grabs and his challenger has a solid resume with military and legal experience which should play well in virginia's seventh district. wayne powell joins me tonight, a community lawyer and a democrat running for congress in virginia's seventh congressional district. mr. powell, good to have you with us tonight. what did eric cantor prove to the people tonight? what did he prove to the people tonight? >> what he proved tonight is he

speaks just like he writes and just like he speaks in washington, which is washington, cut taxes, cut regulations, help small businesses and the jobs will magically appear. you know this pixie dust politics will not work this time. hopefully the people saw who he was. at one point in the debate, he indicated he had been down in the district seeing this person and that person. there was audible laughter in the building. he's never down in the district. he's too busy going to south beach or las vegas to get money for his super pac or for himself. the corporatist that he is came out. he did not answer my question i asked him tonight. >> you asked congressman cantor a question tonight. you called it personal. here it is. i want to play it. >> last year when you and the

president were in a budget stand off that threatened to shut down the federal government, you voted to continue paying members of congress including yourself in the event of a shut down. at the same time, you voted against a bill that would have ensured that members of the armed services continued to get paid. my question is this, eric. how could you in good conscious vote to continue your own pay but at the same time vote to stop paying our servicemen and women that you voted to send into combat in afghanistan? >> cantor never directly answered the question. do you think we're doing enough for our service members, what about it? >> by not answering it, he answered it. he's never done enough for our service people. he voted against a suicide prevention program for veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan. for every combat loss we have every day, we have 18 people who came back from afghanistan and iraq that commit suicide. the veterans are forgotten in this political gamut that he has

in d.c. he's intent to make sure the wealthiest get the tax cuts. he forgets that the people we send over to fight the war, they deserve the best of us and not the worst of us. >> i want to play congressman cantor's closing statement. here it is. i want you to respond to for our audience. >> none of these negative attacks do anything to create a job, do anything to educate a child, or do anything to bring down the deficit. but attacks at character assassination make it a lot harder to solve problems, to compromise to sit down and get something done. >> coming from the face of republican obstructionism, how do you respond to that, quickly. >> well, it's an incomprehensible jumble of words. i was presenting facts and he doesn't like the facts. maybe he can't take the truth.